Vouchers sold across Noida, Freedom 251 maker Ashok Chadda unaware

When asked if Ringing Bells had distributed forms all over Noida for cash collection in exchange for promissory notes, Chadda said that the company had not done any dealings on paper and cash.Sharmila Bhowmick | TNN | February 21, 2016, 12:42 IST

NOIDA: Ringing Bells reopened its website and accepted more bookings for the cheap smartphone, Freedom251, bringing the total number of registrations to seven crore till Saturday evening, company president Ashok Chadda told TOI.

Meanwhile, in a development Chadda was unaware of, people across Noida were reportedly seen selling coupons in the name of Freedom251. The voucher, being sold for Rs 251, promises the delivery of the smartphone soon a ter the launch. Chadda however, said the company belonging to Mohit Goel was taking orders and payments only online.

In a press release, Chadda said seven crore registrations have been done till Saturday evening. "We will distribute the phone by courier to only the first 25 lakh who pay up for the phone. Those who register after that will not get the phone. The distribution will start from April 10 and we will complete it by June 30," Chadda said.

According to Chadda, only 30,000 buyers had transferred their payments so far and others were being notified to pay up. "After the first 30,000 paid up, the payment gateway crashed," he said.

When asked if Ringing Bells had distributed forms all over Noida for cash collection in exchange for promissory notes, Chadda said that the company had not done any dealings on paper and cash.

A police picket, which was deployed outside the Ringing Bells office was not to be seen on Saturday. Curious prospective buyers, however continued to throng the house gates.

SP (City) Dinesh Yadav said police would keep a watch "but there is nothing police can do unless a formal complaint is lodged".

The forms were sold from a phone dealer's premises in Salharpur village.Neha Sharma, one of the people who had bought the voucher, said, "Many people flocked to book the phone.They have promised to give us the phone by June."

When contacted, DSP Anoop Singh said, "we are looking into the developments."

Sponsored Stories

Subscribe To ETTelecom Newsletter

BSNL is yet to get the department of telecom (DoT) nod for commercially rolling out 4G services while the Narendra Modi-led government is eyeing to launch fifth-generation or 5G technology together with matured markets worldwide in 2020.